[Hong Kong 4 August 2009]Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO) opens its 2009/10 season opening on 4 Sep with Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Edo de Waart partnering with one of the world’s greatest dramatic sopranos Deborah Voigt in a powerful program of Wagner and Strauss. “The Metropolitan diva Deborah Voigt” will be held at 8pm, 4&5 September 2009 (Fri and Sat) at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets are now available at URBTIX.

The HKPO’s 09/10 season will open with great fanfare: the subscription campaign, which ended on 4 July, was such a great success in the face of the current economic uncertainty it recorded a 12% increase in total number of tickets sold over the 08/09 season. And the opening concerts were so favorably received that only limited tickets are available for some price categories. So act now to secure your seats to the one concert you can’t miss this year!

Deborah Voigt is one of the greatest dramatic sopranos in the world and one of the select few who can handle the demanding roles written by Wagner and Strauss. Her EMI release Obsessions in 2004 was the Editor’s Choice of the Opera New. In the opening gala, she will sing her signature roles of Isolde, Salome and Elizabeth in Tannhäuser. [Full Biography]

Full of anticipation and joy, Deborah sings the ecstatic aria Dich, teure Hallefrom Tannhäuser by Wagner in which she voices her love for Tannhäuser while outwardly greets the Minstrels Hall.

One of the greatest of all operatic moments, Isolde sings her passionate Liebestodfrom Tristan und Isolde by Wagner at the very end of the opera. Having taken poison and discovered by King Mark, she is transfixed by the body of Tristan and sings of his beauty in death and of the ecstasy they will share. This role, which Deborah has sung for both the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, further established her reputation as a truly magnificent Wagnerian soprano.

Richard Strauss’s Salome challenged and shocked the 20th century, especially with the controversial closing scene in which Princess Salome kisses the severed head of John the Baptist (Jochanaan.) It is undoubtedly one of the most successful roles of Deborah, which was described by the New York Times after her performance with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as “a personal and artistic triumph”.

Edo de Waart, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor

Columnist Chip Tsao once wrote in the Apple Daily, “King of Conductor… De Waart conducts Wagner to show the whole world that Hong Kong Philharmnoic Orchestra will never be the same.” Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the HKPO since 2004, Maestro de Waart has conducted the orchestra in a series of critically acclaimed opera in concert performances of Richard Stauss’s Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier and Act I of The Valkyrie, as well as Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which set a new standard of performance in Hong Kong. [Full Biography]

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO) is one of Asia’s leading orchestras. Enriching Hong Kong’s cultural life for over a century, the Orchestra has grown into a formidable ensemble of Chinese and international talents in the last three decades, attracting world-class artists to perform on the same stage. HKPO annually touches the lives of 200,000 music lovers through more than 150 performances including its extensive education activities for children and adults alike, and free concerts such as the popular Swire Symphony Under the Stars, and regular broadcasts and telecasts. Outside of Hong Kong, HKPO has made a number of successful tours in Asia and Europe including a major six-concert tour of China in the 08/09 season under the leadership of Maestro Edo de Waart, drawing great critical acclaims. [Full Biography]

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
SWIRE is the Principal Patron of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra is the Venue Partner of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.